“So if the formula’s the same, what’s so great about LEGO Harry Potter:
Years 1-4? A bunch of stuff. For starters, the spell system is a fresh
idea. LEGO Batman had different suits for the main characters and LEGO
Indy had the whip and a few other items, but LEGO Harry Potter equips
the kids with a number of magical spells that each have their own
specific purpose. Wingardium Leviosa is the most basic and the most
useful. You’ll use this to lift items so that your partner can reach
high studs, assemble items, and break apart other objects for the studs
they’re made of. Lumos scares away attacking plants, Riddikulus knocks
back your worst fear, and so on. These are each color-coded and can be
switched on the fly via your controller’s shoulder buttons.
…What’s awesome about Hogwarts is that it’s a living, breathing place. I
dig that the game remembers what benches I’ve already shaken down for
studs years later. This is your playground, and it feels like it.”

Ars Technica also gives the game a positive review, highlighting its accessibility for all age groups:

“Flying on the broomsticks, saving other students, exploring the nooks
and crannies of the castle”there is a lot to do, and parents will have
even more fun by giving their children the other controller and playing
the game in co-op mode. Like past LEGO titles, there is only a slight
penalty for failure, making the world safe and enjoyable to explore and
poke around. The presentation won’t hold the hand of people who don’t
already know the story, but if your children are already fans of the
movies or books, they’re going to get these jokes. This is something to
play in addition to the book and film treatments of Harry’s world, and
is best enjoyed after those.”

1UP gives the game a B+, commenting on the game’s ability to revive the “LEGO forumla” as well as its bugs:

“Some of these idiosyncrasies arose while I was trying to achieve 100%
completion (like potions not working properly, or finding a glitched
Gold Brick collectable detection indicator in the Library) — so my
experience may or may not be typical for your play style — but not all,
as some occurred from situations required by the game for progressing a
story level.

But the game is so wonderful, so enthusiastically enjoyable,
so…dare I say “magical,” that I feel sorely tempted to overlook its
flaws for all its brilliance. To put it simply, this game is Veela, if
you’ll excuse me for going Potter-nerd a moment: Irresistibly charming
(especially when everything’s working properly), but has a nasty side
when angered (or in this case, bugs out). To put it another way, LHP has
managed to transport me back to childhood, a time where I could love a
game despite how “sucky” it was in retrospect.”

GameSpot gives the game 8/10, discussing the vastness of the world in the game as well as the bugs in the game:

“The puzzles aren’t difficult; you can solve almost any of these
conundrums by simply making sure you’ve hovered your spell cursor over
everything you possibly can. But doing so is a lot of fun since there’s
so much variety in how various environmental elements react to your
manipulations. Sconces light up and lavish you with fireworks. Mops
clean puddles, and brooms sweep up dusty paintings. The inhabitants of
Hogwarts’ living portraits toss you important trinkets, or grant you
access to new areas if you’re controlling a member of the right house.

…

We
did encounter several bugs, however. In a trip to Hagrid’s pumpkin
patch, we couldn’t interact with important objects after a short while,
which necessitated a level restart; a similar problem forced us to
restart a battle against the perpetually scowling Draco Malfoy. It’s to
the game’s credit that such problems are so easily dismissed in light of
all the fun and variety that so deftly veils them.”

GamePro gave the game 3/5 discussing how the flaws of the
LEGO series were present in this game:

“It’s a series built on two key tenets: personality and repetition. In
earlier LEGO installments, the humorous cutscenes and lighthearted
interpretations of familiar scenarios generally outweighed the tiring
routine of smashing up environments and collecting LEGO pieces. But
after half a dozen iterations, that balance is shifting, and LEGO Harry Potter serves up too much of that not-so-fresh feeling,
despite strong production values and a clear appreciation for the source
material.”

LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1 – 4 is now available in both Europe and North America. The latest trailer for it can be viewed in our Video Galleries.